


Cold Wash Only

by AriaOfMeloetta



Series: The Family Business [1]
Category: Mario Story | Paper Mario
Genre: F/M, Mafia AU, The other partners appear in the sequel, Theyre all human in this, fake dating au, i know this makes no sense im so sorry in advance, i'll update this later with other characters so I dont give it away, it starts out as a fake dating au, then we decend into a Mafia AU, theres a bunch of OCs to fill the gaps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-18 13:59:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12389496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AriaOfMeloetta/pseuds/AriaOfMeloetta
Summary: Bow just wants to get the Fall Fashion line ready in time for their upcoming fashion week. She never counted on the mailman to be a part of it. Or to have her family become so...involved. (Fake Dating/Mafia AU)





	Cold Wash Only

“Karry, deliver this to the Junior’s workroom.”

“Yeah, got it.”

”Karry I need this at the menswear showcase by 10!!”

“I’ll have it there on time.”

“Jeez Karry, is there anything you wont nod and smile about?” The male in question gave his partner a grin.

“Rio, just because I take everything given to me and don’t usually fight back doesn’t mean I cant just say no.” Karry shrugged and set about depositing the small envelopes in his hands into the open cubbies in the main mail room of his workplace. The boy with him, affectionately nicknamed Rio, just frowned and held his hands out for his own mail.

“Are you sure? Because for the 3 weeks I’ve been here for this internship, I’ve yet to hear you turn anyone down.” Shrugging, he set the rest of the mail into a small cart and began to make his way out of the room. Before he left completely, he flipped over the ‘ _Mailman is in_ ’ to ‘ _Out_ ’ and set out to walk the large building.

Parakarry Phost enjoyed his job. He had, since he was a child, held aspirations to be a mailman, ever since his adopted father brought him to his workplace one day, a mail room. Sure, it was a simple and modest job, unlike some of his peers in high school who went on to become soccer stars or architects, but it made him happy and kept a roof over his head.

The one problem was that they continuously reported him as slow. Which wasn’t the case at all. He always made a tireless effort to deliver the morning and evening mail as early as possible. It was just difficult to do when he was being continuously stopped at ever turn by swarms of women who were often asking him questions.

“Karry, darling, you should totally come over and see this new design we have! I’m sure It’d look good with your build.”

“No, don’t go with her, we just a new shipment of fabric and I found the perfect teal for a tie!”

“Sorry, but I really have to get this taken care of.” He sped up a little more, afraid of where they were going to go. Lately the women in the building were beginning to be a bit more forceful in their advances, even going as far as trying to catch him outside in the parking lot as he’s leaving fro the night to try and get him to go out for drinks. He always refused, not wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings.

Karry didn’t believe in stringing people along. It went against his very nature. Most of his coworkers would describe him as reliable even if he was a bit of a scatterbrain. His hands reached for the elevator button and as it came to a stop, he gave the women behind him one last cheerful smile and stepped inside, making sure to avoid the other person in there with him.

“Oh, morning Miss Bow.” He greeted her, getting a nod in return. Bow Idolum was the head of the womenswear department and often quite busy. He never really got a chance to talk to her, but when they did, she was always polite, if a bit cold. She had her purse on the wall beside her as she tugged her long mint green hair into a bun atop her head, holding it fast with a pencil. Pretending he wasn’t staring, he dug through his cart and pulled out some of the envelopes inside.

As the door opened up, there was a collective squealing and Karry was immediately rushed by the womenswear department. Bow rolled her eyes and clapped her hands.

“Ladies, look for a boyfriend on your off hours. We still have to get the Fall line ready for Mrs. Orange.” The women collectively sigh and head back to their posts but not before giving Karry many presents, most of which were edible. Karry smiled nervously and set the food in the bottom-most shelf of his cart as he began his deliveries.

Walking past all of the women as he handed them letters and catalogs, he could hear Bow in her office, working on a sewing machine for several mannequins, two female and one male. One of her interns handed her a bolt of shimmery green silk, and as soon as Bow saw it, she tossed it onto the nearby ottoman.

“No, no, I said spearmint, not mint leaf! Do you WANT her to look like seaweed?” After sending her assistant to go fetch the right shade of green, she looked over her work for the other female mannequin, nodding at how the orange gown faded to red and gave off the warmth of a sunset. She returned to her desk, beginning to furiously scribble into her sketchbook.

Karry wasn’t too much of a fashion buff, but he knew enough to know that this was going to be her best work yet. When he finished his rounds, he held a bundle of catalogs and lightly knocked on her door.

“Hey Bow? I got your-”

“Ugh nothing is working!!!!” She growled, ripping several pages from her book and crumpling them up. She tossed the ball at the male mannequin and slumped onto her chair.

“Bow?”

“What!” She snapped, but seeing at it was him her features softened a bit. “I’m terribly sorry. What is it?”

“You okay?” He walked forward and handed her the booklets. She nodded and took the mail from him.

“Yeah, I’m okay. You’d better hurry. It’s almost nine thirty.”

“Shit.” He glanced at his watch and immediately rushed out of the room. As he left, Bow continued to stare at his retreating figure, and then suddenly picked up her pencil

_‘Hm...'_

* * *

“You wanted to see me?” Parakarry stepped through the door of the HR department, trying not to look as nervous as he felt. When he checked his email during his break there was a message telling him to head up to HR immediately, and when HR calls, __it can’t be good.__

“Yes, take a seat.” The imposing man motioned to the chair in front of them and Karry slowly sank into it. There were a few moments of silence as the man dug through a file cabinet beside his desk and pulled out a single folder, sticky notes sticking out at all sides. Oh, if only the A/C was actually blasting, maybe he wouldn't be sweating as much.

“Mr. Phost, we’ve been getting quite a few complaints about your work ethic and general conduct in our work space.”

“C-Complaints?”

“Yes, we've received a number of them from a few particular staff members, who's names have been redacted for confidentiality. Now, I understand that it can't be easy, coming to such a high-energy workplace fresh out of college, but there is a certain standard we must hold you accountable for.” Placing the folder onto his desk, the man opened it and flipped through the sheets, bringing up his last work review. "You have high marks in most of our satisfactory work requirements, but if we do receive any more complaints I'm afraid we  _will_ have to let you go."

“I see.” The well dressed man sighed and made a note on the same sheet, scribbling on the comments section before closing the folder again.

“Anything in particular that was a major factor?” Karry asked timidly, afraid of the answer.

“Speed and distractions. See to it that you fix both of these.”

“Sir.” Karry stood up and left the office, racking his brain for any way to fix his problem.

* * *

As Parakarry set about preparing his things to leave for the day, a quiet ding went off nearby. Looking up, he saw that Bow was leaving as well. She noticed he was there and stepped over to him.

“Can I give these to you? I need them out tomorrow morning.” He nodded, taking the envelopes and setting them inside his workroom.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” She turned and began to head towards the door, but his voice made her stop in her tracks.

“It’s pretty late as it is, do you need a ride?” Karry slung his satchel over his shoulder and ran towards the elevator, catching it with her. It slowly made its way down. “The buses and trains have stopped running for the night.”

Bow didn’t know Parakarry all that much, but from what she remembered from all the women that swooned over him, they always called him responsible. After only a moment’s quiet hesitation, the door opened.

“Oh, thank you, but it’s alright. I can just call a ride.” She nodded, walking alongside him as they made their way to the parking lot.

“Then do you mind if I wait for it to arrive? I’d hate to leave you alone in an eerie parking lot in the dead of the night just to get home 5 minutes earlier.” She let out a unlady-like snort and shrugged.

“I wouldn’t say no to the company.” They walked up to Parakarry’s motorbike and relaxed, Bow typing away on her phone to get her ride situation sorted.

“So, what happened this morning that had you so frustrated?” Karry opened, trying to find something to fill the quiet. Bow made a face and sighed.

“It’s not important. I’m just having a bit of a hard time trying to come up with some designs.”

“You call that unimportant? Isn’t that the job description?” His eyes betrayed his own emotions, showing concern for the petite woman beside him. She smiled ruefully and shrugged.

“It’s not like this hasn’t happened before. It’s just…never been this bad.” After a few more quiet minutes, the putrid scent of cheap perfume hit their noses. Karry’s smile dropped and she could see why.

Approaching the bike was one of the higher managerial staff. Supposedly she would sleep around, but ask anyone in the office and they’ll admit that no one knows where the rumor even originated from. She always wore too much makeup, and today it seemed like she caked it on and…tried her best to reveal as much of her body as her clothes and society would allow.

Thank god there were decency laws in place to stop that kind of scene.

“Oh Karry, there you are!! I’ve been waiting so long for you to come over and invite me out.” He took a small, almost unnoticeable step back, completely forgetting that they were pressed up against the wall now.

Bow watched quietly beside him, eyes narrowing. She recognized this woman. They often butted heads on themes for collections, on politics, even going so far as trying to one up each other in petty connections. Bow would always win though. No one could win a fight against her, and it wasn’t too hard to see why.

“H-Haha… W-Well uh… I-I wasn’t aware that I ever gave you that impression Liona.” He asked her, hoping that she wasn’t going to invite him out again. For the fourth time that week.

“You’ve been so busy lately we haven’t seen much of each other.” The woman stepped forward and moved to drape herself unceremoniously over him. Bow wanted to gag, she was being so desperate. But it looks like she finally noticed the other woman there with him.

“My, is that Miss Idolum? How nice to see you. But you should hurry along. The adults are going to have a fun night.” She grinned, her smile more like a dog baring its fangs.

“Firstly, Parakarry and I are about the same age, so I’d appreciate you not treating me like a child.” She retorted, keeping her features collected and calm, the fumes from her perfume giving her a headache.

“Secondly, he’s already going on a date with me so back up and go home. Oh! Unless you need me to call your fiance? I did enjoy his views on taffeta during out last luncheon, and I’m sure I still owe him a favor for coming through with those textiles last month.” She pulled her phone out for emphasis, keeping an impeccably polite smile. Karry however was shocked and glanced at her. When had he asked her out?

“Now now, don’t you think I’m a much better playmate than this silly girl? I can promise you a really good night, just ditch her and we can go.”

His own senses were tired of the scent of her perfume and he gripped her wrists, pulling her off of him.

“No, I don’t think so. If I had to pick, I’d rather spend the evening with the ‘silly girl’. At least she would actually offer conversation, and her perfume isn’t as off-putting as yours.” Releasing the woman, he pulled out his keys and handed Bow a helmet.

“Well, let’s let the __adult__  go home. She’s probably very tired.” Laughing, she slipped the helmet over her head and climbed on behind him as he started the motor. The sleek bike roared to life and Parakarry made sure she was holding on tight before he backed up, making sure he avoided Liona at all costs, remembering the warning from this afternoon.

“If you leave, I’ll make sure you regret this!” Liona yelled over the engine, her face red and frustrated.

“It’s not like I can really get fired. Who’re they going to believe, the one that makes all the important deals, or an out of touch woman who can’t discern cotton from polyester?” Bow grinned and waved as Karry drove off, the sound of laughter reverberating through the mostly empty lot.

* * *

“You know, I could have just dropped you off.” Karry sank into the booth of a nearby diner.

“Yes, but I’m actually hungry. I already texted my ride.” Bow shrugged and inspected the menu. “Besides, this was the perfect opportunity to talk to you.”

“To me? What about?” He frowned, sending off a message on his phone.

“Hey kids, what can I get ya?” A pudgy older woman with short curly hair approached them, notebook in hand. Bow smiled at her and set the menu down.

“Hello. Can I just get a cup of iced tea and a grilled chicken sandwich?” The woman noted the order and then turned to Karry.

“And for you?”

“I’ll have the bacon avocado burger combo please.” as soon as the woman disappeared with their order, he turned back to Bow.

“Have you ever thought about modeling?” Completely out of left field, the question had Karry grasping at straws.

“What?”

“Modeling. Putting on trendy clothes, walking down a runway, having your image posted all over the city in ads for perfumes and watches?”

“It’s not something I ever gave much thought to. I’m probably pretty uncoordinated and I dress for comfort, not trend. Why do you ask?” He was still very confused, and the woman in front of him lightly toyed with a straw wrapper on the table.

“Well, remember when I said I was having a hard time with the recent line?” He nodded, motioning for her to continue. “I’ve been like this for weeks. It’s like… It’s like I’ve run dry. I’ve never had any kind of trouble thinking up new designs but lately nothing’s been sticking. I hate everything I’ve been producing, I even took a few days off to leave the city in the hopes that it might refresh me.” A soft sizzling was heard in the backdrop, the sounds of their food being prepared and the waitress speaking with the cook the only other sounds in the building.

“But nothing’s been helping?” She shook her head and sighed. The wrapper was now a small ball which she then flicked off the table, hitting a napkin dispenser on the booth across from them.

“Nothing helped. Until today.” She reached into her bag and pulled out her sketchbook. Slowly she opened the mostly empty pages and showed him the first one. A tan bomber jacket, matched with distressed jeans and combat boots filled the page, wind motifs and wing decals placed all over. As an optional addition, there was a leather flight helmet and goggles added.

“Keep going.” She motioned to the rest of the notepad. He began to flip through, his eyes widening at the sight. Everything she had drawn was really detailed and honestly seemed like the nice type of casual stuff he’d likely wear on a day off.

Their waitress arrived with their food and he moved the pad away to avoid getting any of the bacon grease on them.

“Bow these are amazing.”

“I got all these ideas thanks to you.” She sipped her tea quietly. “Not to mention I can’t see anyone but you wearing any of these. None of the other models come close to your build, your complexion, nothing.”

He sat there in awe of the woman before him.

Poised, prim, perfect. That’s how many of the others in the building would describe her. Her cold indifference to many things also gave her this ice queen vibe that was easily visible in even the interns. But… for some reason he felt that that wasn’t the real Bow Idolum. Call it what you will, but it just seemed like the whole cool, aloof vibe was a front.

One he didn’t mind trying to decipher.

He could have sworn his heart skipped a beat when he saw how proud she looked about her work right then and there, in a rinky dink diner, in yellowing fluorescent lighting. Anyone else would think that this sort of place obviously didn’t suit the lady before him. However the scene before him was the most dazzling thing he’d ever been fortunate to see.

“I’m not asking you to do it for free either! I can make sure you get a model’s pay, or I can do a major favor like secure a future for a family member or pay off a debt or something!” She offered, her hands beginning to reach into her purse. “If it’s money, I can write you a check right now--”

“N-No Bow, that’s not necessary!” He frantically placed his hands over hers, keeping her checkbook in her purse. But it was just then that he realized how close he was to her, and just awkward this position was. He backed up, a faint red blush dusting his freckled cheeks.

“I don’t need the money, honest.”

“Then what do you want me to do? There has to be something I can offer that would make you say yes.” There was a pause as Karry thought over the situation presented to him.

On the plus side, Bow seemed genuinely interested in just having him for this line, no strings attached besides having to maybe pose and wear some classy clothes. He ate his burger, the tanginess of the pickles reminding him of the other side.

On the negative, he wasn’t sure what people were going to say about her and him if all of a sudden the office mailman became a high class model.

As he pondered the situation, a terrible smell wafted up from his shirt, reminding him of what almost happened. Then an idea struck him.

“Be my girlfriend.” Bow choked on her drink and turned away to cough the liquid currently running up her nostril. He was about to offer to help but she just held up her hand and grabbed a napkin.

When she finally got that mess under control, she whipped her head back to stare at him.

“ _ _Excuse me?__ ”

He recounted his tale to her and she listened quietly, nodding thoughtfully at his words.

“That is quite the problem.” She frowned, twirling a lock of hair in her hands.

“It wouldn’t be for a long time. It can end as soon as the Fall line is complete, or in a month. It’s just to get those women off my back so I can actually get my job done right.”

“But if you agree to be my model, why would you still want your mailman job?” She asked, genuinely curious. It was a major step up, why was he so set on delivering letters?

“That’s… It’s a long story and its late.” He glanced at his watch and finished off the last of his fries. She was as surprised as he was. “C'mon, I’ll take you straight home this time.” He left the money for their meal on the table and escorted her out.

* * *

 Outside, a dark car was hidden behind the diner, the two men inside keeping their eyes on the couple leaving the building.

"You think we should follow them?"

"No, this is fine." The driver rewound a machine in between the seats and listened to the recording.

_'Have you ever thought about modeling?'_

_'What?'_

The entire conversation that Bow and Parakarry just had replayed in its entirety.

"This is what the King asked us for. Nothing else. Besides." He grinned maliciously, turning on the vehicle.

"It's not like she can really escape from him."

* * *

The ride was quiet, each person’s thoughts a jumbled mess that seemed to flow by with the wind whipping past.

When they finally arrived to Bow’s home, she hopped off and handed him back the helmet she used.

“Thanks. For the ride.”

“No problem.” A silence fell. Bow looked up at him, his form lightly outlined by the streetlamp and she noticed for the first time how his eyes were a lovely shade of teal, so pure she could have sworn it was like looking up at the skyline at dusk.

“You don’t have to answer me right now. I know it’s kind of a tall order. Honestly I might just change the request to something more manageable--”

“I’ll do it. I’ll be your girlfriend.” His eyes widened as she cut him off. “But you have to be my model. I promise it wont be anything to interfere with your current job, and I’ll put in my best effort to be a worthy girlfriend. I wont treat this halfheartedly--”

“Bow.”

He gave her a sweet smile, earning a blush from her pale cheeks.

“Its a deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> I realize that this all makes no sense, but I somehow think I've made it work. But don't expect the mafia to come in until later.


End file.
